A study by the University of Granada and published in the latest issue of the specialized scientific journal Nutrition has overturned the old belief that chocolate makes us fat. According to research, a high consumption of chocolate is associated with lower levels of accumulated fat throughout the body, regardless of the diet you follow and the amount of physical exercise you do.
To reach this conclusion, the scientists analyzed the behavior of almost 1,500 adolescents between 12 and 17 years old regarding the consumption of chocolate and crossed the data with their body mass indexes, the percentage of body fat and the waist circumference. In fact, the results obtained were independent of sex, sexual maturity, tea or coffee consumption, age and even physical activity of the participants, as the scientists could verify.
The report contemplates various body measurements, an objective measure of physical activity, a detailed dietary record using 2 non-consecutive 24-hour reminders with an image-based computer program, and controls for the possible confounding effect of a set of key variables. Hence, from the University of Granada they point out that ” the study is perhaps the largest and best controlled carried out to date , in addition to being the first carried out on the adolescent population”.
For the researchers ” in moderate amounts, chocolate can be good, as our study has shown. But excessive consumption is undoubtedly harmful .” In addition, in the words of Magdalena Cuenca García, main author of the article, “recent studies carried out in adults suggest that its consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiometabolic disorders”. In fact, chocolate, always in the mouth of Cuenca García ” is a great antioxidant , anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory, has anti-hypertensive effects and can help prevent ischemic heart disease.”
